Final Project with Notes
Note: This document replicates the Final Project Instructions that you can find in the Final Project area in your class, with some added notes (in red) and comments to further support you in writing your Final Project.
Your Final Project in this module consists of two elements and ethical approval forms:
- Critical Literature Review (2,000 words)
- Research Proposal (3,000 words)
Additionally, you will also complete and submit the Ethical Approval forms necessary for you to gain ethical approval for your research project.
Throughout the module, you will participate in activities and complete assignments that will help prepare you to complete this Final Project. Many of the elements for your Final Project will first be submitted as Individual Assignments during the various learning units.
You will receive feedback on these Individual Assignments from your Faculty Member which you should review carefully and incorporate into your Final Project.
Completing your Final Project
Use the instructions below to complete all required elements of your Final Project. Be sure to also review the assessment criteria (rubrics) for each of the graded elements of the Final Project by clicking the "Rubrics" button at the top of the Module Home page.
Critical Literature Review (2,000 words, 40%)
Your Critical Literature Review should review published, peer-reviewed scholarly literature relevant to your research topic and question. In your review, you should:
- Critically analyze the major themes, perspectives, and types of research on your topic.
- Situate your research question within the literature you reviewed. In other words, determine how your research question relates to problems identified in the literature, to studies on similar questions or to gaps in understanding of the topic identified in similar studies.
Additionally, you should include a review of methods and methodological approaches used to study the topic, in which you should:
- Examine the theoretical perspectives and paradigms in the research literature you reviewed.
- Critically analyze the methodological approaches used in previous research on your chosen topic.
Notes: To complete the Critical Literature Review findat least 10 sources of academic information (the majority of these should be peer-reviewed scholarly literature - academic journal articles -relevant to your research topic and question) and analyse them to show how your work may fill an existing gap or extend existing knowledge. Situate your research question within the literature you reviewed. In other words, determine how your research question relates to problems identified in the literature, to studies on similar questions or to gaps in understanding the topic in similar studies. Compare and contrast the sources with each other and with your approach. Does your research attempt to answer a question from a different perspective, or address a question in a different context, as compared to prior studies? Additionally, will your research findings potentially add new perspectives on a current theory and provide a unique application of knowledge to the business field?
Additionally, you should include a brief review of methods and methodological approaches used to study the topic, in which you should examine the theoretical perspectives and paradigms in the research literature you reviewed and critically analyze the methodological approaches used in previous research on your chosen topic.
The majority of the sources should be from refereed academic journals, which you can find in the University of Continental online library. Citations from the main textbooks used for your modules are NOT sufficient here. The appropriate length of the Critical Literature Review is 2,000 words. As a suggestion, and depending on your topic, about ¼ of your Literature Review should discuss the theoretical perspectives and paradigms in research (see previous paragraph).
Remember that a Critical Literature Review is not a product of articles' summaries. Do not only summarise the key points of the articles you reviewed one-by-one. You should aim at comparing and contrasting the arguments in existing literature and at synthesising and summarising existing research in order to present a coherent story that presents existing knowledge on your selected topic.
Research Proposal (3,000 words, 60%)
Prepare your Research Proposal for approval by your Faculty Member, including the following sections:
- Topic, Research Objectives, Context, and Rationale
o Present your topic, research question, objectives for conducting the research, the context for your research question and your rationale for choosing it, using references to the research literature for support.
Notes: Pay attention to the justification of the topic: Why you are researching this topic, what is your personal motivation of doing this topic, what are the potential benefits to your firm or industry or to the field of business in general, and what actions may result from the valuable insights gained, etc. Provide adequate background to the research topic. Make sure that enough information is provided to justify why this topic is interesting, relevant and meaningful. Such information should include discussion of academic resources that demonstrate the academic value and relevance of your topic and research question. You will elaborate further on this in your Critical Literature Review, but an introductory discussion of 4-5 academic resources should be included in this section of your Research Proposal.
- Methodology and Methods
o Select and analyze your chosen research paradigm and its impact on your research question.
o Describe your chosen methodology and how it relates to your research question.
o Critically analyze the strengths and weakness of choosing this particular methodology, including why you did not select an alternative methodology.
o Discuss the types of data you intend to collect with your chosen methodology.
o Present a data collection and analysis plan and detail the following:
? How do your strategies for data collection and analysis align with your methodology and research question?
? What other data collection and analysis strategies could you have considered to answer your research question? Why did you choose to exclude these strategies?
? Critically analyze the ethical implications of your research methodology and methods and explain how you will address any ethical challenges.
o Be sure to support all of your decisions about methodology and methods with references to relevant literature.
Notes: In this section, you will discuss your research methodology. Discuss the difference between methodology and methods. What is your epistemological approach-positivistorsocial constructionist? Discussqualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of choosing any particular methodology, and discuss why you did not select an alternative methodology. This will inform the research design you choose as well as the research methods that you will use to collect the secondary and/or primary data.Present your chosen data collection and analysis methods in detail. You must be able to justify your choice in terms of your learning objectives, your research question and your research approach. Remember that supportingall your decisions about methodology and methods with references to relevant literature is very important.
- Practical Considerations and Plan for Completion
o Describe the potential challenges you might encounter in collecting and interpreting your research data and what you might do to minimize these issues.
o Explain how you would present your data and what presentation format would you use to convey the results to your audience.
o Comment on how you would reduce the chances for misinterpretation of your data.
Notes: Here you are required to elaborate on the feasibility of your research: Will you have the necessary resources(such as access to requisite data, consent of your organisation, some indication of the willingness of subjects to be questioned or interviewed, etc.)? Do you think there will be any challenges with presenting and interpreting the data? What are you plans about presenting your data? Here you should also discuss any measures that you will take to reduce any chances of misinterpretation of your data. For example, if you have mis-specified your research questions or the variables of your research, this may lead to misinterpretation. Or if you are not using appropriate methods of analysis and/or data presentation, then again you may be misinterpreting your data.
Notes: Your Ethical Approval Form is not assessed but it is necessary for you to start your Management Research Project. Every research project needs ethical approval in order to go ahead and you will not be able to start yours before your Ethical Approval Form is ‘cleared' by your faculty member.
PPDP Update (not assessed)
In addition to your Final Project, you should review and update your Personal and Professional Development Plan (PPDP) by 1) reflecting on the connections between the lessons learned in the module and your individual goals, leadership competencies and action plans from your PPDP; 2) updating any elements of your PPDP based on this reflection and 3) adding at least one new goal connected to your learning in this module. You may submit your updated PPDP for feedback from your Faculty Member.
Notes: How to structure the Final Project:
Your Critical Literature Review and Research Proposal must be submitted in one document. You may choose the structure of your Final Project, as long as you cover all the areas outlined above.
You may want to structure your Final Project as follows:
Front Page: Include a front page. This front page can contain information such as your name, the title of your research (this can be something that identifies the area of your research or something that relates to your research question), your student id, your programme of study, the name of your faculty member.
Critical Literature Review: Start your Critical Literature Review on a new page. You may want to structure the Critical Literature Review in sections and sub-sections.
Research Proposal: Start your Research Proposal on a new page. You may want to structure your Research Proposal in three sections (i) Topic, Research Objectives, Context, and Rationale, (ii) Methodology and Methods, (iii) Practical Considerations and Plan for Completion.
References: Please make sure to include a reference list including all the sources of information that you used and cited in your Critical Literature Review and Research Proposal. Your reference list as well as in text citations.